Separated
by Lionandthelamb101
Summary: What if Max and Fang got separated? Both think the other is dead, and would give anything to have one another back. Is this just an accident, or was their separation part of the scientists' plan? Will they ever find their other half? OOC, FAX, kind of confusing, but lots of twists!
1. Chapter 1

**Max**

Another park. Another tree bed. Another day of hiding. This was not the kind of life for Gazzy or Iggy. But they were as stuck in this life as I was. No way out, no permanent home, and no parents.

I shook the depressing thoughts away. There was no point indulging in self-pity. I had two boys to take care of, to provide for, to protect. Iggy and the Gasman were my whole world, the only people in my life that I trusted and loved. They were the only two survivors I had found before the lab blew up. It still hurt me to think of the three that didn't get out…

Wait, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about. Let me start from the beginning.

My first memory was waking up in a dog cage. The smell was totally disgusting, chemicals everywhere and what was probably dried blood. It was dark, but I could see the five other cages surrounding me. Shapeless bundles lay at the bottom of each, but the smallest seemed to be shaking violently. I could hear five different sets of breathing, and I realized with relief that they were still alive.

"Hello?" I had called out, hesitant. The bundle, I mean, the person closest to my prison moved at the sound of my voice. It sat up and turned towards me and that was when I got my first glance of him.

Fang. That was the name he chose for himself in the days following. With dark hair and eyes like the night sky, he was so proud and tough. The rock that I had stood on when I thought escape would be impossible. He was my soul mate, both genetically and in my heart. And I had killed him.

Our captors, the _scientists_, were working on us, altering our genes to make us different, non-human. You see, they had taken DNA from a bird, and human DNA and created…well, us. Bird kids. Avian Americans. Mutant freaks. Whatever you want to call us. We could see farther, hear better, and fly. Yes, you read correctly, fly. An unforeseen physical alteration, all six bird kids grew wings, perfectly proportional to our body length.

They tortured us, having us run until we couldn't move, electrocuting us to see how our nerve endings worked, emotionally testing our connection with each other. It was terrible for all of us.

The escape plan was my idea, and it will possibly haunt me for the rest of my extended lifetime. Fang and I planned a distraction, something to divert the scientists long enough for us to escape. An explosion was supposed to occur in a lab neighboring ours…but it went horribly wrong. I wont bore you with all the chemical stuff, but the 'distraction' went off faster than we anticipated. I had gotten Iggy and Gazzy out of the lab and to a cliff far enough away to be safe. Fang had gone back to get the girls, Nudge and Angel. I was on my way back to help when the building blew. I was thrown back hundreds of feet and knocked unconscious. When I woke up, Iggy and Gazzy were next to me…but Fang and the girls were no where to be found.

The loss of half of our family devastated all of us, but I felt the grief like a dagger in my heart. My Fang was gone. I had killed him. To this day, that thought brought tears to my eyes. Sweet little Angel and Nudge would never know the freedom that we now enjoyed. It was my fault.

"Max?" The sound of my name jerked me from my thoughts. I looked down from my tree and saw Gazzy looking up at me, bright blue eyes wide and scared.

"What's wrong?" I asked, alert and watching for a threat. Iggy still slept peacefully on the limb below me, hidden by the shadows of the branches. The night seemed as calm as any other.

I hopped down and squatted down to the Gasman's level. At seven, he was about half my height. He had grown so much since we had escaped three years ago.

"I had a nightmare. Again. They kept saying they were going to hurt Angel." His eyes overflowed. A pang went through me for this little boy who had lost his sister at such a young age. Gazzy and Angel were biological siblings, and the bond of blood was enough to make him miss her more than any other.

I hugged him, caressing the back of his blond head. Say what you want about me, but my boys were all I had left. Forget lemon juice. To see them cry was like pure acid in a paper cut.

I sat with Gazzy and muttered some reassuring words as he snuggled into my side and fell back asleep. Dawn was coming soon, and we needed to head off, but I couldn't resist letting them both enjoy a little more peace before shoving them back into our harsh reality.

I closed my eyes and rested my head against the bark of the tree. I would give anything for these boys to be safe and happy. To take their grief from them and see them really smile. A tear ran down my cheek. God, I wanted Fang back.

**Fang**

"Angel, time to get up."

"No, I don't wanna."

"Get up and come get your breakfast. You got a math lesson this morning."

I smiled as the six year old rolled over and moaned before sitting up. Closing the door to give her some privacy, I checked to make sure Nudge as up and moving too. Of course, the little chatter box was running ninety to nothing around her room getting ready. I left and started to set the table for the girls' breakfast.

When I had finished, I sat at the table, staring at the table top. As usual when I was alone and not busy, my thoughts drifted to her.

Maximum. Max. My beautiful girl that was dead. My throat closed at the thought. I missed her. God, I missed her so much it hurt. If I had been quicker, the boys and her would be stumbling around getting ready in this house as well. If I hadn't let her go back by herself, I could go to sleep every night with my arms wrapped around her.

It was all my fault. I had wanted to escape the lab. To make a life for Max and our little family. We planned a bomb to go off after we had successfully escaped. It detonated too quickly…

Max and I had tucked Angel and Nudge at a safe distance, in a secluded cave where they wouldn't feel the explosion's aftereffects. I had stayed to protect the girls after Max insisted on going back to get the boys by herself. After a few minutes, I couldn't stand the thought of her in danger.

Leaving the girls, promising to return soon, I had flown back to the lab, just in time to see it explode with Max and the boys still trapped inside. The aftereffects blew me back many yards and I lost consciousness.

Angel and Nudge found me like that, and we never saw the other half of our family again. We set up a life in a little town called Bakersville and have been there ever since. The pain in my heart was enough to kill me if it weren't for the girls. They kept me going, kept me breathing every day, even though my better half, my soul mate, was dead.

I came back to the present as ten year old Nudge bounded in and began shoveling pancakes in her mouth. Angel followed at a slower pace, still kind of grumpy. I smiled at them both. They were everything to me.

After breakfast was gone, I collected the dishes and got the girls math books down from the counter. It wasn't possible for them to attend a real school, but I wanted them to know as much as they possibly could in case something happened to me.

They got to work on fractions as I did the dishes, answering any question they tossed my way as they worked their way through the assignment. I wondered if Max would think my education idea was smart or worthless. Gritting my teeth, I forced my thoughts away from her. I had to accept she wasn't coming back. This hope was only making it hurt worse.

I had to let go.

If only that were possible…

* * *

Is it just me, or do their stories not match up? Mmm...interesting. Well, second chapter should be up sometime today. So review quickly!


	2. Chapter 2

**Max**

The wind felt like heaven through my hair. I could hear Gazzy and Iggy close on my heels, relaxing in the feel of the sun on their wings. It was truly beautiful up here, above the clouds, where space seemed to go on and on.

We were headed to North Carolina, in hopes of finding actual beds to sleep in. Plus, the boys wanted to see the beach, and I'm a sucker for puppy dog eyes. I had some cash that I found in a wallet in the dumpster outside of a Chinese restaurant. I don't know if that counts as stealing, but we could certainly use it more than the rat that had been chewing on the leather.

A warm bed and a long bath in a motel room sounded like the best thing in the world at the moment. My wings were aching from flying all the way from Texas, and I desperately needed some food that I didn't have to capture first.

Ducking quickly beneath the cover of the clouds, I saw the telltale signs that we had reached our destination. I soared back up to the boys.

"Iggy, quick descent at four o'clock. Gazzy, tale him, head for the cover of the trees directly in front of us."

Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you that Iggy was blind. Some experiment to enhance his vision went south quick. Iggy didn't care, as long as we kept him up to date on what was around us.

The three of us headed down, discreetly dipping into the forest and landing in a small clearing. On my way down, I saw a sign saying, "Welcome to Bakersville!"

Obviously Gazzy had seen it too.

"MAX! We're not even close to the ocean. We're on the other side of North Carolina." He pouted. I patted his head.

"We'll head there in the morning, Gaz. Its getting later, and you know we're all exhausted. Let's go rest for the night, alright? You can have first shower." He smiled, placated. We headed toward town, tossing heavy jackets on to hid our wings.

After a few minutes, the forest thinned out and we came upon a street with buildings lining the side. Bright neon signs shone all around, stark against the darkening sky. A Motel 6 was to the left of the forest, and we headed over there and checked in without any problems. I was only 17, but I looked to be much older.

"A bed!" Iggy proclaimed, plopping down on the mattress with a happy sigh.

Gazzy took off to the shower, as eager as all of us to get clean for the first time in weeks. Turning on the TV, I enjoyed an episode of a show called Supernatural, waiting for Gazzy to finish up.

An hour later, we had all showered and hung our clothes out to dry, changing into robes Iggy had filched from the store across the street. I got my own bed, being a girl, while the boys reluctantly shared.

Within a few minutes, we'd all happily dropped off to sleep.

**Fang**

I stocked groceries at the local food store in order to keep food on the table for the girls, but I had to admit it was a ridiculously easy job for someone like me. Clocking out, I walked back to our house that was hidden by some trees. The girls were dozing in front of the TV, waiting on me probably.

I put them to bed and then went to take a shower, feeling my muscles relax under the heat of the water. Into pajama pants and tucked in bed, I thought about the day. It was no different than most days, mundane and monotonous. However, there was an underlying feeling of anticipation. Like something big was about to happen. Like my life would once again change forever.

* * *

I know it's short! I'm sorry, but I was trying to set the stage for what happens next. Third chapter should be up in about an hour.


	3. Chapter 3

**Max**

I wish I could say I woke up in my own time, relaxed and content that I had gotten the maximum (ha ha) amount of sleep.

But I live with the Gasman.

The ninety-pound seven-year-old jumps on top of me with all the strength of a bowling ball. "Max! It's time to go to the beach! Get up, get up, get up!" He was jumping then, completely unaware that I was about to pluck all his pretty blonde hair out of his skull.

My head throbbed and the smell of coffee called out to me from the small table in the corner of the room. Deciding I'd kill Gazzy after breakfast, I shoved him off me and dived toward the donuts.

Iggy smirked. "I thought you'd be hungry." What a cocky twelve -year-old. I should smack him. But I had to use both hands to eat, so I filed him away in my To-Be-Smacked-Some-Time-In-The-Near-Future list and went back to stuffing my face with baked sugar heaven.

As promised, we headed to the beach shortly after finishing breakfast. The water was cool and the sun-baked sand felt amazing against my toes. The beach was empty and mostly secluded, so we let our wings soak in the beach breeze.

All too soon, the sun began to fall out of the sky and we started to fly back. We were going over a patch of woods right next to the town when something caught my eye. I stopped, hovering over a clearing where a tiny house sat. It looked ordinary, but there was something about it. It was charming, almost, like the person had built it with love. I drifted closer, almost drawn to it.

Gazzy and Iggy had noticed I wasn't following them and turned around, floating right above me. The sound of a little girl's giggle reached my ears, and something _made_ me close my wings and drop the last two feet to the ground.

The boys hesitated, then landed next to me, prepared to bolt if something bad happened. I had trained them well. More giggling from the back of the house. I was tempted to fly above the house, to see what was so amusing to the girls, but my attention was caught on the item that had drawn me to the house in the first place.

A tombstone. Actually, three tombstones. Covered in flowers and shined as though someone was taking care of them. They just sat next to the steps of the house. That still wasn't what made me stop.

On the tombstone in the middle, there was a name etched into the stone. _My_ name. _Maximum Ride_.

Iggy's and Gazzy's were etched in the other two. I couldn't move. Who knew our names? Who had made graves for us like we were dead? Who lived in this house and considered us important enough to honor with a tombstone?

Horror set in as I realized this was possibly a scientist's home. One of them had escaped, survived. But why make us graves? We were little more than animals to them!

I backed away, tensing to fight as the giggling faded. Someone was coming around the side of the house, and I would not let my boys be hurt. I saw Gazzy quickly filling Iggy in about what was happening, and they both took up stances next to me.

I was shocked when a little girl with blonde hair came around the corner. She was tall but her face was rounded with youth. A little pink dress and slippers shone in the sunset light. She tilted her pretty little head to the left and said, "Who are you?"

I hesitated, then asked, "Where are your parents?"

Her tiny blue eyes landed on our wings and widened. She turned and ran back to her friend. We tensed, ready to split this banana, when the front door opened.

He walked out. Sure of himself, even scanning for a threat. His dark hair looked the same, same haircut, same color. His dark eyes that were the center of my universe once now locked down on mine.

And the world stopped.

"Fang."

**Fang**

_Damn, I should have washed my hair._ Looking back, I'll realize how stupid and irrelevant that thought was, but at the moment I was numb with shock.

She was…alive. Her beautiful green eyes stared at me with equal amount of shock. She had aged, as I had, but she was still her. Her blonde hair framed her face like an artwork. Same dirty jacket that she had had on when the explosion happened.

Wait, this wasn't possible. She was dead, I saw her die! I'd never forget her face at it looked at me with love right before the explosion. And yet, here it was, watching me like I was a ghost.

"Max."

Angel and Nudge scrambled from the house behind me, almost cowering. They didn't recognize the visitors, didn't realize that this beautiful perfect girl was the "mother" of the flock. The boys behind her didn't look any more welcoming.

I registered all this without taking my eyes off her, scared that if I did she would disappear. That I would never see her again. We could have stared for minutes or weeks for all I knew. Suddenly, I took a step forward, and that was all it took to break the spell.

Catapulting at each other, we met at the bottom of the steps, my dark wings wrapped completely around her as she threw her arms around my neck. I buried my head in her shoulder, tears soaking into her shirt. She reciprocated, sobbing hysterically against my chest. I don't think it was physically possible to get closer, and I was sure we'd both be bruised tomorrow, but neither of us cared.

I collapsed onto the ground, holding her in my lap tightly, rocking her. It was then I realized I'd been murmuring her name over and over again.

"Max. Max. Max."

God, please don't let this be a dream. I can't take, I can't.

"You-you were dead!" She choked out. "I s-saw you bl-bl-blow up!" She drug in a few deep breaths, and then surprised me by starting to whale on me. Tiny fists clenched, she beat my chest like a wild woman. "How could you do that to me?! I loved you! How could you lie to me?!"

She wasn't making any sense, but frankly, I didn't care as long as she was really here. I waited, holding her, until she wore herself out enough to just rest against my chest, still crying softly.

Then I picked her up and motioned for the rest to follow me in the house. Setting her gently on the couch, I went to sit next to her. She crawled in my lap as soon as I was seated, and clenched my ruined t-shirt tightly.

The two blonde boys entered hesitantly, staring at us. The older one, Iggy, stepped forward. "Is it true? You're Fang?" I nodded. "We-we thought you were dead. Max said she saw you blow up. You and Angel, and Nudge." He swiftly glanced at the girls, who had huddled by the kitchen door, ready to leave if necessary.

I cleared my throat, and brushed some tears away. "I thought the same thing of her. I don't understand this at all. I saw her, and you two, trapped in the building, right before it detonated. We made those grave stones in the memory of you all. Trust me when I say that this is just as weird for us.

"For now, let me introduce you again to your sisters, Angel and Nudge." The girls jumped slightly at their names. "Girls these are your brothers, Gazzy and Iggy."

Placing a kiss on Max's forehead, I watched as the four children tentatively began approaching one another.

Gazzy's face was heartbreaking. "Angel. You're alive?" She hesitated, confused. "You're my sister, Angel. My biological sister. You were three when you – when we got separated."

Angel looked over at me. "This is Gasman." I nodded.

Ever the sweet one, she jumped in his arms, and hugged him. He shot me a glance that asked 'you told her about me?'

I shot him a look like 'duh.'

Iggy was hugging Nudge, teasing her curls. He smiled, a few tears running down his cheeks. "Missed you kiddo." She laughed and swatted at his hand playfully.

Max suddenly popped her head out from under my arm, and looked around the room. She had that fierce and determined and slightly pissed off look that used to make me want to kiss her back at the lab.

"Looks like we all have some catching up to do."

* * *

Okay, the reason the younger kids don't recognize each other is because they were so young when they escaped. Here are the ages:

Max and Fang- 17

Iggy - 12

Nudge - 9

Gazzy - 7

Angel - 6

Please review and let me know what you think. I should have the next chapter up tomorrow.


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